Bangkok –
The Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade of Thailand (TCC) urged the Thai government to cancel the pre-arrival RT-PCR test for international arrivals before entering the country and speed up the shift of the Covid-19 pandemic to endemic in order to boost the recovery of the domestic economy.
TCC Chairman Sanan Angubolkul revealed today, March 16th, that the general Covid-19 situation around the world was considered stable and expected to improve. Therefore, many countries had relaxed their preventive measures and now planned to announce the disease as endemic.
He advised that Thailand should accelerate the endemic plan as well: “Thailand should start to proceed the endemic declaration as soon as possible along with the gradual easing of various measures and activities to move the economy forward.”
“The country’s economy had been traumatized for quite some time. People and entrepreneurs had been affected a lot. So, the public health measures should be adjusted periodically according to the situation. All private sectors were always ready to discuss the matter with the government to help accelerate the country reopening.”
Additionally, the TCC urged the government to relax the “Test&Go” scheme by revoking the RT-PCR testing within 72 hours before entering the country and only doing the test on the day of arrival.
They also mentioned a suggested reduction of information forms in the “Thailand Pass” system to shorten time, reduce burdens, and facilitate international travelers.
Sanan continued: “Most of the current infections were domestic, so the relaxation of opening measures would allow the economy to move forward and gain more opportunity against competitor countries in terms of trading, travel, and investment.”
“Meanwhile, the Chamber of Commerce, the Provincial Chamber of Commerce, and local operators in the area would continue to jointly campaign and remind entrepreneurs and the public to follow the public health measures to prevent new clusters,” Sanan concluded.
Previously, the Federation of Thai Industries, or the FTI, had also mentioned a similar demand of revoking the “Test&Go” scheme as many procedures were somewhat redundant and complicated to proceed and could stop international passengers from visiting. FTI, however, wants the entire Test and Go program axed, including on-arrival testing. You can read the story below:
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